Inherited at such a young age, language appears an embedded, inherent function of human experience. It provides a lexical framework through which meaning can be communicated, shared, and recorded. Shakespeare’s deployment of variable meanings through puns endow language a dominant role in the creation of cultural tradition; language is a tool for persuasion and interaction. The figure of Caliban, however, punctures the hegemony of conventional linguistic traditions that seek to distinguish and categorize through naming. By creating space for alternative sounds, Caliban concomitantly reimagines the position of man in nature that initiates am early eco-consciousness. Continue reading
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Foreseen Destruction: A Moral in Troilus and Cressida
Troilus and Cressida does not fit quite neatly into Shakespeare’s collected works. It is filled with bawdy humor, but not a comedy. The ending is tragic, but the characters written so unlikable that a sympathetic audience is hard to find. There is a historical element, but the play’s namesakes are doomed lovers that would have no lasting effect on British history. Why write a play so steeped in inevitable doom? I believe there is merit in discussing the way the play is written as a means to deliver a message as opposed to entertaining an audience. Continue reading